The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

South Australia urged to follow Queensland's move to abolish the 'gay panic defence' for murder

South Australia has been urged to follow Queensland's lead and work to remove the "gay panic defence" for murder.

State Greens MP Tammy Franks has introduced a private members' bill to remove the provision, which allows a man accused of murdering another man to use unwanted sexual advances as a partial defence.

"It's disappointing that the first state in the nation to decriminalise homosexuality will be the last state to abolish the gay panic defence," SA Greens senator Robert Simms said.

"The SA government needs to stop lagging on this and back the Greens bill to abolish this law."

Under local laws, if the defence is accepted it can result in a murder conviction being reduced to manslaughter.

But the defence only applies if a man has killed another man - it does not apply if a man makes a non-violent sexual advance towards a woman or if a woman makes a non-violent sexual advance towards a man or a woman.

Similar laws have been scrapped in all other states except Queensland, where the government has announced it will move to also dump such provisions.